Search For The Needle Pets & Index Guide (September 12 Update)
The Index + Pets update in Search For The Needle — Cow and Dog pet stats, what pets actually do in the hay loop, the Index system, and evidence limits.
Pets arrived on September 12, 2026 with the Index + Pets update — the first companions in a game that was previously you versus the hay. Here is what they do and what is still being verified.
The two launch pets
| Pet | Reported stats | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Cow | 5.5 Speed / 20 Grasp | Sells hay for you — no walk to the trough |
| Dog | 8 Speed / 100 Carry / 10 Grasp | Carries hay to the trough on your behalf |
Both come from post-update gameplay observation, not an official patch-note table — treat the exact numbers as a dated snapshot and confirm on the live pet cards.
Why pets change the game
The trough walk is the core tax of the hay loop — it is why Hold and Speed upgrades exist. Both launch pets attack exactly that tax:
- Cow deletes the sell trip entirely for the hay it handles — effectively a mobile sell point.
- Dog automates the carry, freeing you to keep pulling from the pile.
If you run a pet, revisit your upgrade order: capacity and movement matter less when something else is doing the hauling, and Grasp (hay per grab) becomes the pure bottleneck.
What is the Index?
The update’s other half is a collection Index — the name confirms a completion-tracking system, but Garage Games has not published its full scope: entry count, completion rewards, and whether pets (or badges, classes, places) feed it are all still being documented. Expect it to become the game’s completionist backbone; this page will fill in as entries are confirmed.
How do you get the pets?
Current reporting ties pet access to the update’s event content and the Cow Pet gamepass (ID 1976246449, seen at 499 Robux after a brief off-sale window — full list on the gamepasses page). Dog availability via normal play is reported but the exact unlock step needs confirmation in the current build — check the in-game pets UI rather than trusting any fixed recipe, ours included. And if you have not redeemed PETS yet, the 200 Gems plus the Class Luck window pair nicely with a new pet — details on the codes page.
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